Stinky Avenue in Mamaroneck Awaits Fix

Update 4/10: Von Eiff said that she was informed by the Westchester County Department of Health that plans to fix the sewer main were approved and will take approximately six weeks to complete.

Von Eiff said she was told that there was no contingency plan in the event of catastrophic flooding other than to "anchor the lines as we have."

"There is nothing but prayer that the weather stays on our side," she said.

The smell of sewage is in the air on Jefferson Avenue.

Resident Gina von Eiff said it the smell of raw sewage has been assaulting her nostrils since approximately March 23, several days after a contractor accidentally cut a sewer main while working on a cofferdam (a temporary enclosure built across or near a body of water to allow a dry area for work) at the Jefferson Avenue bridge.

More recently though, she said, there have been greater concerns.

As a temporary fix, the village has put in diversion pipes—which run in front of her home on 220 Jefferson Ave.—to reroute sewage until the main can be repaired. With only a short reach, though, the pipes cannot prevent some of the flowing sewage from catching in the wind and blowing back into the street in a fine mist.

Von Eiff complained to Village Manager Richard Slingerland on March 25 about the potentially hazardous mist and, again, on April 1, writing in an email “I will hold this village legally responsible if my family becomes ill.” Shortly thereafter, the contractor working on the bridge covered the open area with a concrete blanket—a piece of heavy plastic held down by sandbags and small, orange cones—a “corrective fix” reviewed and confirmed by the Westchester County Department of Health, said Slingerland. Trustee Leon Potok visited the area on March 24 to assess the situation. 

According to Slingerland, repairing the damaged main is no easy fix.

“While the length of pipe is short, it is not a quick fix issue.  The entire bridge reconstruction is being designed and built to handle a 40-ton load, which includes this pipe that will be going directly through the structure. Since the bridge is being rebuilt around the sewer, everything has to be designed, scheduled and confirmed so both projects move forward quickly,” he said.

The restoration plan—which includes two manholes and the pipe being reinstated in its current location as part of the bridge structure—is waiting for approval from the Department of Health, said the village manager.

Also of concern to von Eiff, is the potential for raw sewage to burst from the overburdened pipes—which are plugged at the end—during a heavy rainstorm. At the moment, a compressor is running around-the-clock to suck up the sewage, but, in the event of a heavy storm, the generator would need to be shut off as waters rise in the area where it’s located, causing the sewage to potentially burst out into the street, said von Eiff.

“We’re all at the mercy of Mother Nature right now,” she said.

Slingerland said that the flooding risk remains low unless the village receives a deluge of rain similar to Hurricane Irene—4” or more in 24 hours—and generators and the two manholes remain “above flood stage” (when the surface of a body of water rises to a level to cause inundation of areas not normally covered by water.). He said that the village was monitoring weather at least one week out to be able to assess potential flood risks in advance.

According to the historical rainfall patterns from the National Weather Service (NWS), the Sound Shore area averaged approximately 10 inches of rain in March and 5-6 inches of rain in April 2011.  Last year, rainfall averaged 2-3 inches for both months.

For now, though, the village is waiting on approvals from the Health Department, though no time frame has yet been given for repair of the main. 

Slingerland declined to answer a question as to who was responsible for the cost of repairing the main.

“The solution has been designed, and was hand-delivered to the County Health Department last Thursday.  They gave us comments back which we addressed today, and hopefully we’ll get approval shortly, because this is an emergency situation," said Slingerland.